Results vs Process

2645 Views 14 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Serrucho, Apr 9, 2015

Piyush

Discussion Starter · Apr 5, 2015

Which is a better midset to succeed in life - Result Orientation or Process Orientation?

Do you believe the end justifies the means even if it requires great risk and rule breaking , or do you think "It's about the journey, not the destination"?

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Lesuhlee

· #2 · Apr 5, 2015

I'm more concerned with having a results oriented approach. I'm great with seeing a vision and having it manifest into goals, but have issues with 'lacking attention to detail'. Therefore if possible i delegate the nettlesome details to someone competent in that arena.

Yes, for the most part I'm a very ends-justify the means person; but as with anything, there are outliers in every spectrum.

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stiletto

· #3 · Apr 6, 2015

Ends justify the means.

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TheDave

· #4 · Apr 6, 2015

I can be result oriented if a deadline is near or there is some urgency. Or if I'm trying something new.

When things are more relaxed or if I'm successful at my attempt, however, I prefer a process orientation, given that I define process as "a systematized series of focused actions".

You perform a series of actions geared toward accomplishment of 1+ specific goal.

My preference for process is because, you see, a process can be automated, you can delegate its execution and, overall, a process can be leveraged.

The end justifies the means, but only if I'm not violating some moral rule of mine.

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MsBossyPants

· #5 · Apr 6, 2015

TheDave said:
The end justifies the means, but only if I'm not violating some moral rule of mine.

Mostly like this ^^^, but even then, I'm willing to move the line on a case by case situation if it's warranted.

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Grandmaster Yoda

· #6 · Apr 6, 2015

In morality, means justify the ends.
In work, ends are more important. There is no right way to do things, as long as the result is good.

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Nox

· #7 · Apr 7, 2015 (Edited)

Personally, I much prefer results.
A gritty person who outperforms everyone > A person who's all-mouth and "in the moment."
(Ideally, one should sit down and power through 10k hours of work like it's nothing.)

J's would argue that mid-processes are momentary, and they are all ultimately for a glorious result.
P's would argue that sense of accomplishment is overrated, and it's better to have a glorious pursuit.

(Anyway, it's not wise to break rules and legal parameters; it's often far better to maximally exploit those existing parameters, mechanisms, and loopholes.)

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Fredward

· #8 · Apr 7, 2015

Grandmaster Yoda said:
In morality, means justify the ends.

Why?

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Dao

· #9 · Apr 7, 2015

Means impact ends.

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Grandmaster Yoda

· #10 · Apr 7, 2015

Fredward said:
Why?

Natural law Fredward, Natural Law!

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Fredward

· #11 · Apr 7, 2015

Grandmaster Yoda said:
Natural law Fredward, Natural Law!

I don't know what that means so I'll just nod sagely.

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MrQuestion

· #12 · Apr 7, 2015

Results oriented, 'end justifies the means'. A process will never ever be absolutely free of any conflict. It will be hard, and that is why it is most important to focus on the goal.

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Sophia1

· #13 · Apr 7, 2015

TheDave said:
The end justifies the means, but only if I'm not violating some moral rule of mine.

This is also true for me. The moral rules of mine are important and 99.99% held... ie. if I was running pharmaceutical company and if experimenting on rhesus monkeys meant we would get to human trials faster, I would never do it; or if I was overruled, I'd probably quit. As mentioned in another forum, how important authenticity is. I stand by what I morally believe in. I cant even think or recall of the 0.01% instant of time that I go/went against my morals...

I like innovation, I like creativity. I'm not a "its always been done this way" to achieve _ results person. I always look for ways to improve something, maybe I have an idea, maybe you have a better idea, pitch me an idea, is it feasible, is it more efficient than the current method, what are the risks etc. If after such assessment is complete and the ideas a go-ahead then the end certainly justifies the means of getting there. I don't care if its my idea or really who's idea it is, its about getting the Best/most efficient idea to achieve _ results, without destroying my morals.

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maust

· #14 · Apr 7, 2015

Sophia1 said:
This is also true for me. The moral rules of mine are important and 99.99% held... ie. if I was running pharmaceutical company and if experimenting on rhesus monkeys meant we would get to human trials faster, I would never do it; or if I was overruled, I'd probably quit. As mentioned in another forum, how important authenticity is. I stand by what I morally believe in. I cant even think or recall of the 0.01% instant of time that I go/went against my morals...

I like innovation, I like creativity. I'm not a "its always been done this way" to achieve _ results person. I always look for ways to improve something, maybe I have an idea, maybe you have a better idea, pitch me an idea, is it feasible, is it more efficient than the current method, what are the risks etc. If after such assessment is complete and the ideas a go-ahead then the end certainly justifies the means of getting there. I don't care if its my idea or really who's idea it is, its about getting the Best/most efficient idea to achieve _ results, without destroying my morals.

This, definitely this. Also, like @Shimmerleaf said, the way we do things often impacts how those things end up. If I do immoral things and say "the means justify the ends", there will be negative ramifications of that immoral way I did something. Maybe it's illegal and I get arrested. Maybe (as is the case in the Stanford prison experiments- the guy did horrible things, his wife threatened to divorce him unless he stopped them) I lose a valued relationship because of it. There will be ramifications, so it's best to do things the moral way anyway.

Basically, results are good, but sacrificing morality means your results will suffer. They're not really mutually exclusive- you can't separate what you're doing from how you're doing it.

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Serrucho

· #15 · Apr 9, 2015

In day to day life I'd say I'm more process oriented. I definitely keep the results in mind when creating a plan of action, but once you have the plan and begin the implementation phase I think it's better to focus on the process. This has a double effect: first, if the plan fails for reasons outside of your control then you can rest easy knowing you did your best; second, by focusing on the process (the specifics of the plan) you guarantee that you are being as effective as possible.

Picture an archery competition. The archer who looks at the trophy misses his target and fails. The archer who looks at the target hits the target and gets the trophy.

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